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Tuesday, April 30, 2013

I began my recent weekend in Roanoke, VA, with a stop at the Roanoke Railhouse Brewery. The brewery opens their tap room on Friday and Saturday afternoons, so I planned my travel to arrive in town early enough on Friday to enjoy a pint or two of the brewery's beers. As my GPS announced "You have arrived at your destination," I looked around and saw no brewery. Around the block I went, catching sight of the brewery sign as I passed by a second time. The brewery occupies space in an auto tire and service garage. I found street parking nearby and made my way to the marked entrance.

Even as I walked in the door, I had my doubts if I was in the right place. It appeared I was a car repair shop. I backed out the door to double check that I had read the sign correctly. Yea, this should be the place. I heard the sounds of people talking, so I followed the path marked out by ropes and cardboard boxes, winding my way through a corridor towards the back.

Finally I arrived in the brewery area, and found a large crowd surrounding the small serving area. It took me about 10 minutes to work my way to the front of the crowd and order a beer. I learned that the brewery serves $2 drafts for one hour on Friday, which explained the crowd. After "happy hour" the crowd was smaller, although there was a continuous stream of folks coming through. The visitors appeared equally divided between first timers, and the regular fans of the brewery.

Four beers were available the day of my visit; Track 1 Amber Lager, Switch Monkey Belgian Ale, Castle's Irish Red, and a seasonal Red Belgian. The Castle's Irish Red appeared to be the most popular, so I opted to start with that. This beer is one the brewery brewed under contract for a local establishment. I was told that business closed after the last batch of beer had been brewed, and that there were no plans to brew the beer again. The Irish Ale was a reddish bronze color with a faint malt aroma. The flavor was malty with a roasted, nutty bitterness in the finish.

I next opted to try the "seasonal Red Belgian." This beer was described as a "happy accident." It seems the brewer was working on a batch of Switch Monkey and mistakenly used caramel malt, creating a darker version of Belgian Ale. Many folks were enjoying it so I figured I'd give it a shot. The beer was a light brown color with what seemed to me, to be a funky, off-putting aroma. There was mild maltiness to the beer, but not much else to arouse my taste buds. Taste is subjective, and although I opted to leave the beer unfinished, I saw many folks ordering refills of pints and growlers. I was running out of time, and ordered another pint of the enjoyable Irish Red.

I typically don't order sample trays when visiting a new brewery. I don't find that the small samples and multiple flavors provide a good opportunity to enjoy to beers. In retrospect, that's a rule I will ignore when I next visit Roanoke Railhouse. A tasting flight here consists of four, 9 ounce samples; 36 ounces of beer for just $6.00. That's a lot of bang for the buck!

I had been most interested trying the brewery's Railhouse IPA, but it was not available at the time of my visit. However, the hotel where I was staying had quite an impressive craft beer menu, which included the IPA. I ordered a glass with my dinner later that evening. Railhouse IPA pours a dark amber color with minimal head and carbonation. The aroma is earthy with some pine and citrus notes. The flavor is fairly reserved, with a base of bready malts and some pine and grassy hop notes. I noted a hint of butterscotch and a toasted background. The overall flavor was balanced, and gave little hint of the reported 7% ABV.

I enjoyed my visit to Roanoke Railhouse Brewery and was struck by the number of fans visiting this small, hidden shop. I look forward to trying a few more of their selections in the future. I may not have to wait for a return trip to Roanoke either; the brewery will be expanding its distribution state-wide soon.

Monday, April 29, 2013

I was attending a convention in a Roanoke, VA hotel this past weekend. Although I did stop at the Roanoke Railhouse Brewery before checking in, I expected to see little else in the form of craft beer during the course of the weekend. Imagine my surprise, and delight, when I discovered this menu at the hotel restaurant:

Click to embiggen

That's 19 honest to goodness craft beers! While they did also serve the usual array of factory beers, the place actually printed a special craft beer menu. Sadly, the hotel-catered events I attended as part of the convention weekend, did not feature any of the above mentioned beers. However despite a busy weekend of meetings and other events, I did manage a couple of visits to the house pub for a good beer, or two three.

Saturday, April 27, 2013

I stopped for gas Friday afternoon and as I was filling the tank I glanced down and saw this:

A New Belgian Brewing bottle cap, lying in the parking lot of the local gas and convenience store. It's hardly uncommon to see factory beer trash lying around, but I've often noted the lack of craft beer litter. Unfortunately it seems even the litterbugs have discovered good beer. Seriously folks, the trash can was two feet away.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

I had tentatively planned to hit the range after work earlier this week, but that trip was sidelined by a surprise late afternoon teleconference. (I need to reexamine that whole "Arrive early - Leave early" routine; the former works, the latter seems to fail frequently.) So it was time for plan B, let's taste another new beer.

Not long ago I received a few bottles of Fordham Brewery Wisteria Wheat from the brewery. I was happy they generously sent three bottles so I could share. I'm not a big Hefeweizen fan, but Colleen and "Checkered Flag" definitely are, so I appreciated their impressions too.

At Colleen's request we dusted off the tall Hefeweizen glasses, even though they hold much more than 12 ounces. It took a hard pour to build up a moderate head over an unfiltered, hazy orange beer. The foam was not persistent and dropped rapidly. The expected mix of banana and light spices came through in the aroma. The flavor followed suit with a strong sweet banana and yeast flavor. A hint of tartness comes through at the end. The finish is dry and very clean. Very little aftertaste is left behind on the palate. A moderate carbonation, mild flavor and just 5.1% ABV, made for a refreshing pre-dinner drink.

My tasting companions said they enjoyed the Wisteria Wheat very much. "Checkered Flag" pointed out that he finished his glass before the rest of us. That's not the usual order of drinking speed around here. However, given that wheat beer was one of our friend's gateway beers, that's not surprising.

I was still disappointed to miss out on shooting, however the fun of trying out a new beer with the same folks I hoped to have been shooting with was certainly an acceptable alternative.

Note: This beer was provided by Fordham Brewery. It is through my own free will that I consumed and reviewed it. No compensation was received for this review.

Monday, April 22, 2013

Another entry in the Flying Dog Single Hop series, this Imperial IPA is brewed to showcase the Citra hop. When the sample from the brewery arrived last week, I knew based on the name alone, that my citrus-loving palate was in for a treat.

Flying Dog Single Hop Imperial IPA with Citra pours a clear yellow-orange. The bright white head appeared quickly, and persisted as a thin layer during whole length of my drink (which admittedly was not an extended period of time.) I was immediately struck by the strong aroma of grapefruit-like citrus. Upon taking the first sip, that grapefruit juice impression was reenforced with a tingling in my sinuses. "Wow," I exclaimed, "this is interesting."

That initial citrus hit moderated as the beer warmed. After a short time in the glass, the sweet malt started coming through in both the aroma and flavor. The beer took on more of the malty aspects of a Double IPA. It was then that the warmth of the 10% ABV made itself known in the taste as well. The finish was clean and citrusy, but balanced with a hint of sweetness; like a bit of sugar on your morning grapefruit half.

I've enjoyed all of the Flying Dog Single Hop beers I've tried. This Citra-based one might just be my favorite so far, although I admit that impression could be influenced by it being the most recent. BTW, if you're a home brewer, the Citra Single Hop IPA is the featured beer for the May “Stove Toppers” homebrew kit from Flying Dog.

Note: Flying Dog sent me an unsolicited bottle of this beer. It is through my own free will that I consumed and reviewed it. No compensation was received for this review.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Earlier this week, I was deciding on a beer to enjoy as we sat up late one night (or was it early morning?) visiting with a friend. I saw the Starr Hill Cryptical Imperial Stout in the fridge — there's a fitting nighttime libation! I had first had this beer on cask a few weeks ago, and was looking forward to trying the bottled version that came as part of the brewery's Jambeeree! mix pack.

As dark as night, but not scary

The beer was as dark and as rich as I recall. I enjoyed the dark roasted and bitter chocolate flavors. It did seem to me that the citrus hops that come out at the end were more intense than I recall from the cask version we had previously. The hop flavor lingered for some time in the finish. The mouthfeel was smooth and with low carbonation. Plenty of sticky lacing was left behind on the glass.

I savored my dark nightcap slowly, enjoying the full flavor, in a not-too-heavy beer. Soon it was time for bed and sweet, not scary, dreams.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

The latest groupthink from the left claims that responsibility for educating children belongs to "the community," not parents. In a "Lean Forward" propaganda piece, MSN resident Marxist Melissa Harris-Perry makes the claim, "We haven't had a very collective notion of these are our children, so part of it is we have to break through our private idea that kids belong to their parents." This collectivist proclamation should be a wake up call for every responsible citizen, parent or not.

The right and duty of parents to educate their children is “essential, since it is connected with the transmission of human life; it is original and primary with regard to the educational role of others, on account of the uniqueness of the loving relationship between parents and children; and it is irreplaceable and inalienable, and therefore incapable of being entirely delegated to others or usurped by others”. Parents have the duty and right to impart a religious education and moral formation to their children, a right the State cannot annul but which it must respect and promote. This is a primary right that the family may not neglect or delegate.

After the initial outcry, some tried to make the claim that the Harris-Perry's comments were taken out of context. In fact, when the story first came out, I was almost ready to give it a pass. However, by her own admission, we learned that her statements were indeed interpreted correctly. She stood her ground recently with these remarks:

This isn’t about me wanting to take your kids, and this isn’t even about whether children are property. This is about whether we as a society, expressing our collective will through our public institutions, including our government, have a right to impinge on individual freedoms in order to advance a common good. And that is exactly the fight that we have been having for a couple hundred years.

"Collective will," as promulgated by the state schools. Sort of like this:

Robb over at Sharp asa Marble summed it up quite succinctly, "This is why I own guns."

As noted in my previous match report, I seemed to have succumbed to some sloppy shooting recently. In the rush of competition I was not staying focused on the sights completely through the trigger press. As noted also, I was going to fix that issue. So after work recently I headed out to the range for a short practice session. (Gotta love the longer daylight hours!)

Setting up a lone USPSA target at 25 yards, I put 75 rounds downrange. After each shot I decocked the trigger, so all the shots were from the long double action pull. I didn't take a lot of time waiting for a perfect sight picture; pausing only long enough to get the sights back on an acceptable sight picture to call it in the A zone.

I started out a little low and left. That's from jerking the trigger and is the issue what I wanted to fix. It didn't take long to get myself focused in again and the shots started finding the center of the target. I was happy with what I got done in this practice session. I only expended 75 precious rounds, and every one of them was shot with a specific purpose in mind, making use of limited ammo resources. And it was still fun.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

This past weekend our son's school held its annual fund raising dinner and silent auction. As we've done for several years, for two schools, we donated a beer tasting event. This year's offering will include at least eight courses, for eight people, to be held this summer in our home. We'll pair up a selection of beers and foods, and enjoy a fun afternoon of culinary delights.

As the evening went on, it was obvious that one bidder had his sights set on winning the bidding. He was one of the attendees of last year's event and wanted to do it again. I saw him hovering frequently over the bid sheet to ensure he kept the top bid. At the end of the evening he let us know, with a big smile on his face, "I'll see you in July!"

In order to give the winners something to take home that evening, we put together a basket of related treats; three six packs of craft beer, assorted glasses, and some bottle openers.

The auction bar offered a treat for the craft beer fan as well, one that I appreciated throughout the evening. The bar featured Blue & Gray beers! They served the brewery's Fred Red and Classic Lager on draft, as well as Stonewall Stout and Borman's Belgian Ale poured from fresh growlers. Not a factory beer in sight!

I'm excited just thinking about the upcoming tasting event, and we're already putting together the menu options. Of course, there will be lots of beer and menus to preview in the meantime.

Monday, April 15, 2013

When I received the sample package from Dominion Brewery, I was very interested in trying out the Espresso Stout and the Double IPA. Admittedly, the included Cherry Blossom Lager did not greatly interest me. I'm not a fan of fruity beers, and the label inscription "made with real cherries" made me hesitant. However, a beautiful Spring evening, after a quick trip to the range, seemed like a fitting time to try it out. Besides, if it was not to my liking, I could pour it out, never to be mentioned again.

Dominion Cherry Blossom Lager pours a hazy, dark amber with a reddish tint. Despite active carbonation in the liquid, the head was thin and short lived. The aroma was a bready malt with a faint fruity aspect. The taste is a grainy, barely sweet lager, with a slight fruit flair. A tart, though mild, hint of cherries comes through at the end. The overall flavor profile is pretty subdued. Mouthfeel is clean with active carbonation.

There's no ignoring that this is a fruit beer, but the fruit profile is fairly innocuous. The cherries provide a bit of a twist in the flavor, but do not have enough impact to hide the lager nature. The beer was refreshing and the added tartness was enjoyable. I will admit I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed the drink as much as I did. My personal preferences may not make this a beer I seek out in the future, but I didn't have any trouble finishing my glass.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Last weekend was filled with shooting fun. The day after shooting the half-day Cedar Mountain Youths pistol match, I took part in the 7+ hour monthly Fredericsburg Practical Shooters USPSA match. Consisting of just one more stage than Saturday's match, the major difference being the number of shooters; 17 at Cedar Mountain, 108 at Fredericksburg. Despite the time it takes to shoot the match, Fredericksburg is always extremely fun, and this month the Spring-like weather made for a very pleasant day.

This month's match was a "classifier match," so 4 stages were official USPSA classifier stages, which were interspersed with longer "field courses." The first stage our squad shot was "After Work Blues." This stage was more field course than your typical "stand and shoot" classifier. You started by opening a door and engaging three targets, then moving to a long port to engage 2 paper and 2 steel, and then finally transitioning to behind a barricade to engage the last three paper targets. A lot of fun with some fast sprinting between shooting areas.

"Pop-Ups" was another exciting stage that had the shooter hitting steel poppers place at the end of the bay, in order to activate a swinger and a clamshell target at the front of the bay, before moving downrange to engage targets on both sides.

Pop-Ups

Overall, I did not have as successful a day shooting as I would have liked. There were way too many misses, not to mention one stage where I went running right by two targets without even engaging them. THAT was frustrating. In reviewing the day, I was very happy with the speed and consistency in my draw, a result of many hours of dry fire. I also feel I've made improvements in moving between shooting spots and being ready to shoot upon getting there. But for whatever reason, my accuracy was way down. However, I came away with some specific goals for training, that makes it a successful day. My next practice sessions will surely focus on shooting groups and making sure I am truly watching the sights.

But no matter the results, it was a great day of shooting with a lot of fun folks.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Morning Glory Espresso Stout is another entry in Dominion Brewing's "pinup girl" series. This bottle ofstout has been sitting in the fridge tempting me since it arrived. (No pun intended.) I finally had the chance to sit down to enjoy the beer this week. I was not disappointed.

Morning Glory pours dark, make that black, and opaque, with a rich cappuccino-colored head. The dark coffee aroma is apparent right away. The dominant flavor is that of dark espresso. Hints of dark chocolate and a bit of roasted malt come through as well. There's just enough sweetness in there to keep the bitterness in check, creating a very well-balanced flavor. The mouthfeel is creamy and smooth. Despite record-setting high temperatures outside, this rich dark beer was quite refreshing and enjoyable.

It's no secret that I enjoy rich dark coffee as much as beer; I frequently drink a cup or two after dinner. (Despite the supposed caffeine effect, I am still apt to fall asleep with a book on my lap.) As I enjoyed the Morning Glory Stout, I couldn't help but think about the wonderful convenience of combining these two brewed beverages. (And still fall asleep in my chair after a hard day.)

After taking the accompanying photo, I split my glass with Colleen. She enjoys a good coffee stout too. Even at 9% ABV, half a glass was not enough. I will have to look for this in my local store. We are planning another beer tasting fundraiser event for the school, and I told Colleen we should work Dominion Morning Glory into the menu. I think our guests will enjoy it as much as we did.

The beer reviewed here was a promotional sample from the brewery. My impressions are provided of my own free will and mind. The only outside influence being the beer itself.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Servant of God Fr. Emil Kapaun was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions while a prisoner of war during the Korean War. The story of this priest and the lives he touched, and saved, is amazing and inspiring. I have been following Fr. Kapaun's story and anxiously awaiting this day when he would be recognized for his service and sacrifice.

This holy man spent 7 months in horrendous conditions in a POW camp. Yet, his love of God and concern for his fellow prisoners never wavered. One can only imagine the abuse he faced from his captors, who were unable to break his resolve or fight the hope he gave to other captives. Fr. Kapaun was eventually martyred by starvation and lack of medical treatment. He died on May 23, 1951.

As I watched the medal ceremony online, I was moved by the presence of men who knew Fr. Kapaun, including a veteran who's life the priest had saved. I was also struck by the irony of the award being given by the president, and man so very unlike Fr. Kapaun.

I sensed that this priest, who may one day be canonized a Saint in the Catholic Church, was placed as a sign for us, and for the president. As he spoke the words, I wondered if they might be touching his heart, his soul - showing him what virtue is, what a real man does, how a faithful Christian serves God? I am certain Fr. Kapaun is to be canonized; to hear his actions described by a man who has no respect for the Catholic Church, who is actively pressing for Her destruction, who has no moral compass as he pushes for abortion in all forms, same sex marriage and other objectively evil things, my heart was touched, my eyes misty. Even coming from the mouth of one so distant from Mother Church and all that She teaches, Fr. Kapaun's story was still glorious!

It took 60 years for Fr. Kapaun to be awarded the Medal of Honor. However, his true reward will come when he is recognized as a member of the Church Triumphant. Named a Servant of God in 1993, the cause for Fr. Kapuan's canonization is ongoing. May the wait for his heavenly honor be not so long coming as his earthly award.

I promised recently that I'd share my thoughts on Starr Hill Amber Ale. As a man of my word, I was compelled to sit down with a glass of this beer from the Starr Hill Jambeeree pack recently. Truth be told, I had planned to enjoy a "bigger" beer that evening, but after having spent over 7 hours shooting a USPSA match, I decided on something a bit more sessionable with which to wind down the evening.

Starr Hill Amber Ale pours a dark amber color with a thick off-white head. The head lingers in a thin layer throughout the drink. The aroma is caramel malt with an earthy note and is followed by a sweet malt flavor with just a hint of toasted bitterness. The sweet malt lingers for a long time in the finish.

This Irish Red Ale is a little sweeter than others I've had, but it is not cloying and is very drinkable. At just 4.8% ABV, Starr Hill Amber is a refreshing drink that would be just right on a warm summer evening. It certainly hit the spot after a long and tiring day of shooting.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Here's more confirmation of what we already knew; the real intent of the gun control elite is not gun control. Their intention is to control you, the lowly citizen. Mark Kelly, who already got caught trying to buy a gun he wants to ban, is again exposing his true colors. Kelly testified in Colorado in support of the bill to limit magazine capacity there to 15 rounds. Yet, here he is, in Arizona, showing off his Glock handgun with a 17 round magazine.

His wife, another tool of the gun grabber crowd who also wants to take your guns, is cheering him on as he target practices.

Last Saturday I attended an practical shooting match held by Cedar Mountain Youths organization. The funds raised from the match go to supporting firearm education for young people. The event is held at a farm property used by the organization for shooting, archery, and other activities.

Six stages are set up along the sides of a 100 yard rifle range. Shooters are divided into Open, Limited and Revolver divisions. For me this was a chance to load my mags to their high standard capacity rather than the 10 round limit when I shoot USPSA. Most of the stages were fairly basic in design; consisting of arrays of targets, steel and paper, shot from multiple shooting boxes.

One simple stage consisted of just 4 paper and 2 steel targets, shot from two shooting boxes. As a twist, the course rules allowed for only 10 shots; two for each paper and one for each steel. Miss your shot on the steel plate, and there's no make up shot allowed.

Another interesting stage had orange and green painted targets added in. The stage started with unloaded gun lying on the table. At the beep, the shooter turned over a card from a stack on the table. The color turned over was the color of target to not shoot. You loaded the gun and engaged the proper targets from two widely spaced shooting boxes.

The other four stages also presented fun, but not overly complicated courses of fire. The simplicity of the stages made them very suitable for the new shooters as well as the more experienced. There were a number of folks there who had never shot a practical pistol match before and this is a good venue to introduce them to the sport. Even though the main function of Cedar Mountain Youths is to introduce young people to safe and responsible firearms use, it's apparent that local adults are benefiting as well.

The group limits participation to just 20 shooters. The small group makes for an easy, half-day match. I also appreciated that the match takes place on Saturday morning, a switch from the usual Sunday schedule of most USPSA events. The event was very enjoyable and I look forward to participating again.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

The package was shipped to me from Greenville, MS on March 20. I finally arrived here in Fredericksburg, VA on April 2. Here's the route it took according to UPS tracking: Greenville, MS → Memphis, TN → Roanoke, VA → Portland, OR → Laurel, MD → Fredericksburg, VA.

Interestingly, there was no scan of the package when it left Roanake, nor was is scanned when it arrived in Portland. It was off the grid until it departed Portland. The box was a little worse for wear, and in fact was torn open with the contents exposed. Fortunately none of the precious metals inside went missing.

Monday, April 8, 2013

After a fun range trip we headed over to The Tavern for dinner. Most of our party had a hankering for "Wings," while I was thinking about a juicy burger and a beer. It had been a while since we visited this pub, but we remembered they had good food and a decent beer selection.

When we arrived I saw a sign for Devils Backbone Vienna Lager. I've got bottles of that one in my fridge, but I don't think I've ever had it served on draft, so my beverage decision was easy. Three of our party opted for the "Tavern Wings" appetizer for their main course. I went with the "Blue Heaven" burger; a half pound burger topped with a generous portion of honey ham and Swiss cheese. Yep, it was as tasty as it sounds!

So far so good, what could be wrong you ask? As we were enjoying our food, the proprietor came by and jokingly remarked "You're supposed to order wings on Wednesday!" That's when we realized that The Tavern has half-priced wings every Wednesday. Then I looked at the daily specials list sitting on the table. It turns out burgers are half-price on Mondays! We were there on the wrong day for both.

The Vienna Lager poured a dark amber color with a beige head. The aroma was bready with some sweetness to hit. Served a tad too cold for my tastes, the flavor peaked after a few minutes of warming. The lager is rich with caramel and bread flavors with a hint of toasted nuttiness. Just a hint of bitterness finishes it off. My serving, a real 20 ounce "pint", went down way too quickly. On my next visit I'm going to allow time for another. I suspect that visit will take place on a Monday or Wednesday evening.

Saturday, April 6, 2013

I had a recent work-from-home day to wait for the Sears repairman to fix the dishwasher. Of course, he arrived 10 minutes before the end of the scheduled window. Then after 30 minutes or so he announced that the prior service tech hadn't ordered all the needed parts, and one of the replacement parts had arrived broken. The upside was since I started work early, and had no office-related interruptions, I had time left at the end of the day to hit the range!

We called up "Checkered Flag" and headed out for a sunny but chilly range trip. It was a self defense practice session rather than an USPSA practice session, but trigger time is useful no matter what. We lined up an array of bad guys using what we laughingly call the Tim Geithner targets. That designation is due to the hair style similarity, nothing more. :-)

These targets are especially useful, and fun, since there are lots of aiming options. Of course, there's the body and head shot combos. There are also 4 numbered circles for precise aiming drills. There's even a small "man" printed in the upper right corner that one of our party spent time trying to obliterate with some very precise aiming.

We spent a couple hours doing drills as a group and individually. I realized that although I've been shooting a few times recently, this was the first time since January that Colleen has been able to join me. That was a long overdue date. And as we are so often wont to do, afterwards we picked up our son at home and headed out to a local pub for dinner.

The fun shooting and good food more than made up for the frustrations left after the failed service call earlier in the day.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

I've long been distrustful of those who argue for "gun control" laws. It is my opinion they are complicit in the creation of defenseless victims. But with growing frequency, I am finding those who speak and act against the God-given right to self defense to be more than simply ignorant. They are increasingly being exposed as vile and dangerous people, who are often proven to be liars, criminals, violence prone, and even racists.

She knows that the Denver police arriving "within minutes" will do nothing to save this man in the situation he presents for discussion, and she has the unmitigated gall to laughingly dismiss the man and his concerns, telling him he'd be "probably be dead anyway." The leftist elites care nothing about the safety and well-being of us lowly citizens. They propose "gun control" laws that have absolutely nothing to do with protecting people, and everything to do with control of people. The way this despicable excuse for a human responds gives us an amazingly clear view of the fight ahead. It's us vs. them. Stand by for another war for freedom in America.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

I hadn't bothered to unload the target stands and other supplies from my vehicle after the unsuccessful range trip earlier in the week. So, when Friday morning arrived sunny and warm, I grabbed the gun and ammo and headed out to see if I'd have better luck on a weekday morning. Sure enough, the park was empty; just me and the geese on the pond. For the first time since the Quantico match, I was able to get in some live fire practice.

A good portion of my range time this day was spent working on my draw and first shot. I set up at about 10 yards and repeatedly drew, using a timer, and fired one shot. At the start of the practice, I noticed I was repeatedly hitting the same pasted holes in the C zone, just out of the lower left corner of the A. Putting some extra attention on keeping focus on the front sight through the shot helped with that.

I also set up one target as a barricade and practiced shooting from both sides with the targets placed so I needed to make an extreme lean to see them. I often struggle in matches with similar setups, but rarely think to practice that situation. I also put some time into strong and weak hand only shooting. The upcoming match at Fredericksburg is a classifier match, so it's a good bet that one-handed shooting will be prominently featured.

Of course, all this mostly one or two shot practice, left me itching for the fun of just letting loose with some fast shooting. So I finished up with some 10 round Bill Drills, shooting as quickly, but controlled, as possible. It's fun sure, but it's a valid training tool too!

My brief and solitary trip to the range was a great way to start off my three day Easter break. It was good to finally shoot, and to get outside to enjoy some actual Spring-like weather. And if that fun morning wasn't enough of a treat, when we arrived home from the Good Friday service at church that afternoon, I found a delivery of long backordered ammunition sitting on my porch! It really was a "good" Friday.

Let's Do This

Virginia Concealed Handgun Permit

Self-Defense Is Not Violence

"It is high time for society to stop worrying about the criminal, and to let the criminal start worrying about society."-- Lt. Col. Jeff CooperPrinciples of Personal Defense

"Though defensive violence will always be 'a sad necessity' in the eyes of men of principle, it would be still more unfortunate if wrongdoers should dominate just men."-- St. Augustine

Targets of the Left

"Legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for one who is responsible for the lives of others. The defense of the common good requires that an unjust aggressor be rendered unable to cause harm. For this reason, those who legitimately hold authority also have the right to use arms to repel aggressors against the civil community entrusted to their responsibility."-- Catechism of the Catholic Church #2265

Good Company To Keep

The NRA

Proud Member

VCDL

Proud Member

VSSA

Proud Member

People of the Gun

Proud Member

Remembering Colonel

And finally, the blog would not be complete without a picture of our faithful canine companion of fourteen years. He lived a good life and brought much joy to our lives. We miss you old buddy.